BERN, SWITZERLAND – Chocolate and cheese consumption in Switzerland aren’t slipping, but two liquid icons of Swissness are continuing their downward trend: milk and wine consumption are both slipping, despite an increasing population. Whether the larger share of foreigners in the population partially explains the change is a matter for conjecture. Cheese consumption has remained […]

BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss population continued to increase in 2012, figures published Thursay 25 April by the Federal Statistical Office show. The population climbed to 8.037 million, aa 1 percent annual increase. The resident population does not include people with short-stay permits or those requesting asylum. The increase is slightly lower than that for […]

More snow and rain helped boost hydraulic power by 18.% BERN, SWITZERLAND – A cold first three months in 2012 lie behind a 0.6 percent increase in energy used last year. Switzerland consumed 59 billion kWh (kilowatt hours) of energy in 2012,the Federal Energy Office said Wednesday 17 April. The figure climbs to 63.4b when […]

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland spent CHF17.3 million in 2012 to rid the world of anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war, the government said Friday 5 April, to mark International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The country is one of the 10 largest financial contributors in the world […]

Lausanne’s increase highest: detective work paying off, but cop patrols to be stepped up GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Crime is on the rise in Switzerland, up 9 percent overall in 2012, with robberies showing an 11 percent increase nationwide. Theft in urban areas has risen more rapidly than elsewhere. Two other areas of crime that are […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Nestlé Group in Vevey finished 2012 with sales up 10.2 percent, with organic growth of 5.9 percent, in line with expectations. The world’s largest food company sold CHF92.2 billion in products last year. Growth was strongest in Asia, Oceania and Africa, the company reports. Net profit was up CHF1.1b to CHF10.6b, and […]

Watchmaker forecasts 5-10% growth annually for long-term GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Swatch Group in Biel/Bienne says its sales topped the goal of CHF8 billion in sales in 2012, a 14.14 percent increase and CHF1b more than in 2012, in a market the company labelled “extremely nervous”. Net income was CHF1.6 million, a 26 percent increase […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swatch Group sales remained strong in 2012, the company said Thursday 10 January, with turnover up by CHF1 billion, a 14 percent increase for a total of CHF8,143b. The lion’s share of turnover is in the watches and jewelry sector, which saw 15.6 percent growth. “Good operating profit and net income [are] […]

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss unemployment rose in December, from 3.1 percent in November to 3.3 percent, but the figure for December 2012 is 8.9 percent higher than a year earlier. Seco, the federal office for the economy, notes that overall 2012 was a relatively good year for the Swiss jobs market, considering the “extremely tense […]

BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss population officially went over the 8 million mark during the third quarter of 2012. Foreigners account for 1.85 million of the total of 8.01 people. In the Lake Geneva region defined as Geneva, Vaud and Valais, foreigners are 482,785 of the total of 1.51 million, or 32 percent, well over […]